awhile, advb. phr.
(əˈhwaɪl)
Also 5 awhyle, 6 a-wyle.
[Strictly two words, OE. áne hw{iacu}le (for) a while, a space of time: usually written in comb. since 13th c.]
(For) a short time, (for) a little.
| a 1000 Beowulf 3528 N{uacu} is þ{iacu}nes mæᵹnes blǽd áne hw{iacu}le. a 1250 Owl & Night. 199 Þe ule one hwile hi biþohte. a 1300 Cursor M. 10135 Leue ȝoure wantounship awhile. 1538 Starkey England ii. iii. 203 Aftur they haue byn brought up in lernyng A-wyle. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 104 Sailing awhile to the Southward. 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. xx, Awhile she paused, no answer came. |
¶ Improperly written together, when there is no unification of sense, and while is purely a n.
| 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. i. xxiii. 72 It was doon but awhyle agoon. 1872 Yeats Growth Comm. 102 For awhile the facilities..enabled the Venetians, etc. 1882 Ouida Bimbi 44 After awhile they seemed to pacify each other. |